Trace Blog

Trace measures your performance in action sports and auto edits your most exciting moments whether taken from a GoPro, iPhone, Android or other camera. You connect Trace to your skis / board / helmet, turn it on, and go. Trace connects to an app on... (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){ (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o), m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m) })(window,document,'script','//www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga'); ga('create', 'UA-51503888-2', 'traceup.com'); ga('send', 'pageview');

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Introducing Surfline Scout

Visit http://www.SurflineScout.com to learn more and apply.

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Trace Data: HB Pier vs Lower Trestles

Pedro's or Las Barcas? Pier Bowl or Poke Bowl? We could argue all day. But what do the stats say when comparing two of California's favorite surf spots? 

We took a look at a year's worth of data collected from Trace users at the South Side of the Huntington Beach Pier and San Clemente’s Lower Trestles. Take a look and let us know what you think.

HB Pier Avg Max Speed: 20.7mph Avg Longest Ride: 106.7 yards Avg Number of Turns per Wave: 2.1 Avg Sharpest Turn: 174 degrees

Lowers Avg Max Speed: 24.4mph Avg Longest Ride: 160 yards Avg Number of Turns per Wave: 3.8 Avg Sharpest Turn: 218 degrees

We don't choose sides here at Trace, we just report the numbers. Grab a Trace from the shop and start collecting your own data at your favorite spots!

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Is Surfing or Jogging a better workout?

Surfing is a great total body workout.  Even without a consistent swell, most surfers will catch 6-8 waves in and hour and burn roughly 200 calories.  With a higher wave count, faster and longer rides, surfing can be on par with consistent jogging over an extended period of time.  On June 1, 2016, Trace user Tony K burned 1661 calories in a 5 hour session at Lower Trestles.  That's the equivalent of running 18 miles at a 10 minute/mile pace!  Purchase a Trace here and start tracking the amount of calories you burn in your average surf session.

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Trace and Surfline Announce Surfline Scout

Today we're stoked to announce a partnership with Surfline, the world’s leader in surf forecasting, to launch Surfline Scout, a program that will usher in a new paradigm in surf reporting.

The Scout Report, which will be featured on all Surfline report pages, is a collection of key data points created by Surfline Scouts. Waves per hour, average length of ride, paddle distance, water temperature and other insightful data will be captured via Scouts with Trace sensors and served to Surfline users. Now, in addition to the forecasting, reporting, and live cam tools on Surfline.com and the Surfline mobile app, surfers viewing the Scout Report will know exactly what it’s like in the water in near real time.

The Surfline Scouts are an approved group of surfers that use the Trace tracker and provide their session data back to Surfline to be publicly shared. Scouts meet minimum standards for frequency of surfing and ability at the most frequently viewed breaks on Surfline.

“As the leader in surf forecasting and the standard-bearer for the surfing community, our purpose is to make surfers’ lives better” said Ross Garrett, General Manager, Surfline. “We’re excited to partner with Trace to give our users this exciting new data set—crowd-sourcing the best possible surf reporting is a step into the future.”

“We all know technology can help athletes improve their performance. We’re believers that tracking and reporting data is a logical next step for surfing, and being leaders in the connected economy can help all surfers get the best out of every session. Partnering with the world’s biggest digital surf platform to get that data to the masses is a really exciting accomplishment for Trace, and we’re just getting started.” – David Lokshin, CEO Trace.

Click here to learn more and apply to become a Surfline Scout!

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Measuring Surfing Top Speed

What’s the top speed you’ve ever reached surfing?

On average a surfer will hit 21.4 MPH on a typical wave at Lowers.

Top speed is usually hit at the bottom of a wave after dropping in or when pumping for speed across the face of a wave.

Lots of factors are going to play into how fast you can go.  Wave height, pitch, shape, drag from your board, fins, and even leg rope, gravity and your weight.  On average, a lighter surfer on a traditional shortboard is going to be able to reach higher speeds in smaller waves.  When waves are good, weight matters less while equipment and ability become more relevant.

Trace uses a high dynamic GPS, allowing the 9 sophisticated sensors to collect positional data more than 100 times every second.  A Trace unit will deliver all of this data to a user’s mobile app, showing exact location, speed, distance, and turns on each wave surfed, including a heat map showing acceleration, top speed, and deceleration.

After seeing this data, surfers can understand how conditions and equipment affect their top speed, where on a wave they are going to reach their max, and make the subtle changes that will end up putting them on the leaderboard for their home break.

Think you can top Noel Salas’ 33 MPH at Lowers?  Grab a Trace HERE and find out!

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Know Your Longest Ride

What’s the longest wave you’ve ever surfed?

On average a wave at North Side of the Huntington Beach pier is ridden 55.5 yards, while Lower Trestles measures an average of 82.5 yards.

Likely the single most under-utilized statistic in surfing is the length of ride.  As a reliable measurement of the quality of the surf conditions, Trace can tell a user the distance from drop in to kick out with incredible accuracy.  Would anyone ever believe someone caught a 1,121 yard left at Rincon?  Trace can tell you within 6 inches how long your best wave was and the average length of ride over a session.

Journaling and personal record tracking are two key features on the Trace app that let you compare stats at the same wave over different sessions.  Journaling is an easy way to figure out when your favorite break is consistently performing the best for you, based on how you perform during different conditions.

Found on your Profile page in the Trace app, Trace leaderboards are built to share the best waves from the entire Trace audience.  Log in to see how you rank against all Trace surfers at your favorite wave (or any location) with stats like length of ride, speed, wave count, number of turns and more.

Find out more about what Trace can do for you HERE.

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How Are Surf Turns Measured?

Every turn that Trace measures includes comprehensive information on the two most critical aspects of a surf turn: rail angle and turn angle. Watch the videos below to see in-depth depictions of each in relation to the surfboard.

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Brand Advocate Noel Salas Uses Trace In Channel Islands Flexbar Technology Board Review

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Our friends over at Stab published a new article on Jordy, and how he uses Trace to improve his surfing: Jordy Smith's Secret Weapon For Surfing Better.

Go check it out!

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The Perfect Spring Splitboard Kit - Gear Patrol

Heading out into the slushy springtime snow requires a kit that is dedicated to the task. Our guide has the perfect shoulder season gear.

Just because it is getting warm outside doesn't mean snowboarding season is over. Check out Gear Patrol's killer list of great of must haves for spring riding. 

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Surf coaching with Trace data

Lately, I have only been using Trace up for personal use. It takes a bit of time to get familiar with the procedures but its like anything else, once you get used to it it’s very easy and quick to set up.

You can get all your stats by syncing Trace up to your phone. If you want to add an extra dimension, you can also get footage of your surfing and use the Trace software to display those stats on your videos so it looks like Robocop was watching you surf! What this means is that you can get real time feedback of your surfing performance.

BEFORE

AFTER

If you are like me and enjoy having post session discussions AKA be stoked about surfing, you will really appreciate using Trace so you can actually know how radical or lame your second turn was on that epic wave.

I am looking forward to implement Trace up into my surf coaching, as I believe this is the future of surfing and that it’s just super cool. It’s made surfing a lot more fun for me.

I highly recommend Trace to any keen surfers and surf coaches out there who want to improve their surfing and have more fun doing it. If you simply enjoy knowing and sharing your surf session with friends, Trace is deffinitely for you. How many waves did you catch? I bet you I’ve caught more!

This is a guest post written by Tim Boulenger, originally from Tahiti and now at university in Australia, surfing the Gold Coast on a daily basis with Trace! 

Snag your Trace today at www.TraceUp.com/shop

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Track and relive: grom style

This is part of our #TraceTribe blog series where we take a look at how some of our users use their Trace

We are trying to improve our surfing ability so we can do better in contests and hopefully win world championships someday. Our parents always take video of us from the beach and we have manually counted our waves in the past but it’s not fun to count while you are trying to concentrate on your surfing.

When we saw the Trace online it was still a brand new product. We wanted to get it so we could get all the statistics on our speed, wave count, length of ride, etc. But what really appealed to us the most was that it shows you how many degrees you turn the board on each maneuver. It’s really helped us improve from that point. And it makes surfing more fun. Leila caught 151 waves this month and burned 2,382 calories. That’s just so cool!

When my parents get the shots of our good waves, the Trace information makes our videos look technical. It sort of reminds us of a video game where the numbers are all displayed on the bottom and we are the game characters. Our videos are more unique with the trace info and looks upgraded from the regular posts on social media with cool information in the clips. Colors are brighter too and they just look more professional. Plus it takes zero time. We just drag and drop.

It’s so easy to use. My parents just film us and then we drag it into the Trace video app. The video and our clips come back with cool stats overlaid.

Since we started using Trace our surfing has really improved and our contest results are better too. It’s fun!

This is a guest post by Leila and Jake. You can catch them on instagram at @surferleila and  @hapasurferjake

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Timmy Reyes is over on Maui getting set to paddle Jaws! Stay tuned to for stats from his sessions!

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Check out highlights from the Trace Up Stack Up finals!

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Check out Spencer Whiting in Project Mayhem Episode 4

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TRACE UP / STACK UP: Final week

As of 10am December 29th, these are the UNOFFICIAL totals.

WAVE COUNT:

Griffin Foy: 1040 Sam Coffey: 1001 Kade Matson: 575 Dimitri Poulos: 560 Jackson Butler: 484

TOTAL DISTANCE SURFED (Miles):

Sam Coffey: 47.2 miles Griffin Foy: 37.4 miles Dimitri Poulos: 24.2 miles Kade Matson: 19.9 miles Dane MacKie: 18.9 miles

NUMBER OF TURNS:

Griffin Foy: 1350 Sam Coffey: 1308 Dimitri Poulos: 820 Dane MacKie: 789 Kade Matson: 643

MAX TURN DEGREE:

Kade Matson: 302º Griffin Foy: 300º Ryan Martin: 299º Dimitri Poulos: 299º Cole Houshmand: 298º Cody Young: 298º Dane MacKie: 298º

FASTEST (mph):

Brodi Sale: 33.5 mph Sam Coffey: 33.5 mph Finn McGill: 33.0 mph Dane MacKie: 32.1 mph Cody Young: 31.7 mph

BEST VIDEO WITH OVERLAY:

Dane MacKie

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It’s official, Jordy will be returning to the WSL Would Tour!!